


A Precious Thread in the Fabric of the Universe

by StoriesInMyHead_StoriesOnThePage



Category: Black Friday - Team StarKid, StarKid Productions RPF, The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Team StarKid
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-08
Updated: 2020-03-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:48:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23072734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StoriesInMyHead_StoriesOnThePage/pseuds/StoriesInMyHead_StoriesOnThePage
Summary: “Starts today,Can’t be stopped,Alone in the black.”Hannah had been repeating the same phrase all morning.Ethan did not pay much attention to it, but would soon find out there was more to Hannah's rambling's than he would ever know.(I'm bad at summaries, this is basically a retelling of Black Friday from the point of view of Ethan and both the Foster sisters. Will follow the plot of Black Friday with added elements.)
Relationships: Hannah Foster & Ethan Green, Hannah Foster/Lex Foster, Lex Foster/Ethan Green
Kudos: 47





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: We Get It, Ethan, You’re a Good Speller

The world was as silent as if it ended in the night. The sun was still below the horizon and the street was as dark as some old black and white movie, or at least the old documentaries they used to be forced to watch in class. The air was harsh and brisk, the sky was bleak and uninviting, the street looked like an unfinished painting. So much of the canvas was still perfectly white as if waiting for the artist’s hand to return. The morning light struggled through the murky cloud, but even in its weakness, it was enough to blind Ethan as he drove down the empty streets of downtown Hatchetfield. Driving through the fresh layer of snow as carefully as he could but still with a slight sense of urgency Ethan glanced down to the time on the car clock: 6.25 am. Holding back a yawn he brought his eyes forward and focused on the road, early mornings weren't a new experience for him. In fact, he preferred them, meant he could get out of the house before his shitty excuse of a dad woke up, the early mornings were, however, still a new experience for his young passenger sat next to him. Taking a second to quickly glance over at Hannah, Ethan noticed that she was still muttering to herself,

“Starts today, can’t be stopped, alone in the black.” 

“What starts today Banana? As much as I love our early morning chats, it would be useful to know the other half of what you're saying.” 

Hannah had been repeating the same three phrases since he had picked her up from their trailer 30 minutes prior, for a moment Ethan wondered whether Hannah had found out about his and Lex’s surprise for her. He was so careful that morning, making sure she didn't see him when he was packing the trunk of his car with the bags Lex had prepared and hidden a few days earlier. Ethan knew that Lex would kill him if Hannah found out before she got the chance to tell her sister the news herself. Ethan hoped to God that wasn't the case, after all, he was looking forward to seeing the faces on both of his girls when the secret was finally out. It had been a few seconds and Hannah still had not answered Ethan’s question, he sighed in relief, if Hannah knew what was happening after Lex’s shift today she would have left home with a bit more spring in her step. With that worry now out of his mind, Ethan felt a little better, though Hannah was still silent, gazing out the window with a look of fear on her face. Straightening up in the driver's seat Ethan tried to think of something to say to break the uncomfortable silence, 

“You know Hannah, I thought while we wait for your sisters shift to finish we could do something fun, I heard that the bowling alley up on the third floor of the mall has -“

“No.” 

“Okay then, no bowling. That's fine, I wouldn’t trust putting on those shoes either, they say they clean them but the smell tells another story.” Ethan added a dramatic shudder hoping to get a laugh out of the ten-year-old next to him, however when Hannah responded with nothing but a concerned glance Ethan couldn't help but feel defeated. 

“Okay, okay so we’re not in a talkative mood today I see. Well, it’s a good job I still have some old tapes me and your sister used to listen to.” With that, Ethan reached back behind his seat, making sure he kept his eyes fully on the road. His car may not be the safest scrap of metal in the world considering how cheap he got it in the first place, but he did pride himself on being a better driver than most. After finally grabbing hold of what he was after Ethan pushed the mix-tape in the player and let the silence be disturbed by the sound of guitars and drums from different songs from artists both he and Lex enjoyed. Hoping that by the time they reached the mall Hannah would be a bit more enthusiastic about the day ahead however during the short silence as one song finished and the next started he could help but overhear as Hannah muttered the phrase. 

“Resist it, please. Don't go deeper in the black.”

Her voice sounded sad and pained, quickly glancing over to make sure she was okay Ethan found Hannah staring right back at him. Now he was starting to get freaked out. He was about to say something when suddenly the musical score of the next song started to play and Ethan immediately knew what song this was. 

*************************A few years earlier*************************

_‘I walk a lonely road_

_The only one that I have ever known_

_Don't know where it goes_

_But it's only me, and I walk alone_

_I walk this empty street_

_On the boulevard of broken dreams’_

_“_ Mr. Green? _”_

_‘Where the city sleeps_

_And I'm the only one, and I walk alone_

_I walk alone, I walk alone_

_I walk alone and I walk a - ’_

“Mr. Green!”

Ethan ripped the headphones from his ears after the torturous cries of Mr. Cox the Vice-Principle currently towering over him, as if detention weren't bad enough. 

“What?!” 

“Your teachers did mention your willingness to pay attention was just one of your many faults,” the much older man sneered, “I shall repeat myself, Mr. Green, hopefully, you shall take what I have to say in, as I will not say it again, tonight you shall be spending this next hour of detention in complete silence. No music, no technology, no talking at all. Please hand over all your devices you shall get them back at the end of the hour.

Suppressing the groan he so wanted to make, Ethan reluctantly handed over his phone and headphones make sure to flip off the Vice-Principle the moment his back was turned. He was surprised to suddenly hear a small chuckle from behind him before he could look to see who it was Mr. Cox broke the silence.

“I do not know what you find so entertaining Miss Foster but the same rules apply to you too. Your mobile please.” 

Foster? Lex Foster? Ethan peered over his shoulder to find the source of the chuckle who in response was also reluctantly handing over her phone and judging by the look on her face she was not hiding her disdain. Ethan knew of Lex Foster, she was in serval of his classes but they had never spoken to each other, even in middle school they had never cross paths. Their eyes met for a brief second, all Ethan could do was flash a smirk, he was happy that he wouldn't be suffering detention alone, and he would be an idiot not to notice that she looked pretty cute. Especially when she too followed his lead in the flipping off of teacher whose in turn was walking to his chair at the front of the classroom. Bringing his attention back to the front of the room Ethan glared at the man keeping him from his freedom for the next hour and was completely set on continuing to glare at him until he walked out of the room. 

The clock always ticks. There are times you don't hear it, and there are times that you do. And for Ethan, he could hear the piercing ticks as the seconds passed. Seconds, minutes, hours he wondered how long he had been in the room for, Mr. Cox had been sure to remove the clock from their sight, this somehow made the constant ticking worse. Letting out a small chuckle Ethan was remixed of his Uncle and how disappointed he would be right now, he vaguely remembered the overly dramatic saying his uncle would always say when he used to visit him as a kid.

_“Time is a precious thread in the fabric of the universe. It deserves its own tool of measurement.”_

To this day Ethan still refused to wear a watch just because it really annoyed the crap out of his weird absent Uncle, though as the years went on he never seemed to grow out of the habit. Slouching down in his chair Ethan wondered whether he could get away with taking a nap, hoping that if he closed his eyes for long enough he would wake to find detention to be finished and he would be free to leave. Letting his eyes wander from the ceiling over to the other detainee sat just behind him across the room he noticed how she too was staring at the ceiling a face of annoyance and anger on her face. He didn't know why but for some reason he wanted to see her smile, so he looked around the room for inspiration when suddenly it hit him like a ton of bricks. Making sure to make as little noise as possible he pulled out his barley used notebook from his backpack and began his preparation. 

Lex sighed for what seemed to be the hundredth time in the past ten minutes as she stared up into space, she was kicking herself for ending up in detention. She should be at home, making dinner for Hannah and making sure her mother was staying the hell away from her, but no. She just had to get caught smoking behind the bleachers at lunch. The only hope she had was that her mum would be so high that she wouldn't even notice or pay attention to Hannah, at least then Hannah would know to just stay in their shared room until she got home. Lex wondered whether she could get away with faking ill to get out early, maybe start a coughing fit or fake a dizzy spell, it had worked in the past, however knowing Mr. Cox he would not be so easily fooled. He was such an asshole, she was pretty sure he followed her earlier that day at lunch just before he found her smoking. She glanced over at her fellow inmate for detention that day and rolled her eyes. Ethan Green. She remembered him from middle school but only because he had a reputation for being a bit of a bully, however, that wasn't how she saw it. Whenever she got told about why he had been sent to the Principle’s Office or just any story in general that involved him being carried off by a teacher Lex noticed the story was always half told. Yes, he would cram people in lockers, stuff their bags and school work in the toilets, hell he would even throw a punch now and again but he was never the initiator. Lex had been there today when Ethan was caught fighting in the corridor. Lex saw the other kid bump into Ethan on purpose, Ethan was just trying to mind his own business he didn't want to get involved. At least he didn't until the other kid mentioned his mother before Lex knew it Ethan had knocked the kid to the ground and suddenly they had a crowd of people cheering and screaming. Lex started to wonder whether all the other times were started by Ethan or whether he was literally dragged into them. 

She was so lost in her thoughts that she jumped up in her chair when the ball of paper bounced off her face and landed on her desk. Glaring over to the only person with the means to ‘attacking’ her she was met with the guilt-ridden face of Ethan Green mouthing the world sorry, he quickly glanced over to Mr. Cox to make sure he was not looking before turning back to Lex gesturing with his hands to open up the ball on her desk to read the contents. Rolling her eyes in annoyance Lex looked down at the scrunched up ball in front of her, curiosity nagging at her she carefully opened the ball, careful not to make any noise. Written on the sheet of paper was one short sentence:

_Reckon I can get it in Mr. Cox’s coofee?_

Ignoring the obvious spelling mistake Lex looked up in confusion, it wasn’t until she saw the straw and small pre-made spitballs sat on Ethan’s desk that she produced a wide grin, working quickly to write and throw over her response she sat back in her chair arms folded over her chest, her smile did not leave her lips. Ethan, in turn, opened the paper to see the response which simply said:

_Make it three in a row and I will show you the best escape route out of the school._

He didn't need any more motivation than that, after all, he had already got the smile he so desperately craved from her and the way her lips lifted upward, the warm glow she now had. Her smile was a ray of sunshine, and Ethan was craving warmer weather the second he saw it. Setting his sights now on the mug of coffee Mr. Cox had set aside on the desk, Mr. Cox himself was to busy, his nose stuck in the book he was holding. Ethan wondered whether he would even notice if both he and Lex just got up and walked out. But of course, Ethan had more pressing issues to worry about, whether he could score three spitballs in a row as Lex had all but challenged him to make. Bringing the straw up to his lips he carefully took the first shot. Yes! Quickly looking over to Lex who in turn was holding in a laugh, nodding over to him as if daring him to go again. Suddenly addicted to her smile Ethan turned back to his position and prepared for the second strike… Success! Feeling lucky he went in immediately for the third attempt hoping Lex was still watching. He hoped the phrase ‘third time lucky’ was true as he doubled checked whether Mr. Cox was paying attention. Counting down in his head he prepped himself for the final strike. 

_5, 4, 3, 2, 1… Get in you beauty!_

It took everything he had not to burst out in euphoria, all he could do was quickly fist pump while turning back to Lex making sure to give her a smug look. She in return was also smiling back at him giving him a literal ‘round of applause’ along with a nod of approval. Before the two of them could do anything else, the sound of movement coming from the front of the room brought them back to reality. Mr. Cox who was now stood up and making his way to stand in front of the desk, lifting his coffee cup once he got there. Ethan’s stomach fell, had he seen? Did he know? Was he in more trouble? As those thoughts flew around his head he kept his composure, hoping Mr. Cox wouldn’t suspect anything. 

“You both have another thirty minutes until you are free to leave, now I have to make a quick trip to Principle Harrison’s Office when I get back I expect you both to still be sat in your seats and I want no talking while I’m gone as well.” And with that he took a big gulp from his cup and walked out of the room, leaving the door slightly ajar. The two students waited at least thirty seconds just to make sure he had left the vicinity before they both erupted into a burst of shared laughter, Lex was clutching at her stomach as Ethan jumped up and ran to the door making sure Mr. Cox was well and truly gone. 

“You lucky bastard! How did you get all three in a row? Are you some sort of wizard or what?!” Lexonly just amazed to get the words out of her mouth before she started laughing once again, Ethan waltzed his way over to the chair in front of her and shrugged,

“What can I say, when I set my sights on something I achieve it, and I think I can safely call this a successful mission.” Settling himself down of the chair Ethan leaned forwarded so that his arms rested on Lex’s desk, tilting his head he watched as the girl in front of him started to snort-laugh. Damn this girl had an amazing smile, why had he never realised ’til now? 

“To what, poison Mr. Cox with your DNA?”

“Make you smile.”

Lex’s laughter faded after that comment, she suddenly felt very exposed, bringing her arms up again covering her chest she looked down, focusing on anything but Ethan’s stupid grinning face. Worried that he may have accidentally insulted her, Ethan leaned back in the chair he was now sat in making sure he took his arms off her desk and giving her space. His brain was rattling with trying to find the words to say without making things worse, however, before he got the chance to say anything Lex broke the weird tension between them. 

“So, you wanna see this escape route or not?” 

This caught him off guard, but that didn't stop him from following her lead as she rose from her seat pulling her coat on as she did, Ethan looked over to his stuff, then back to Lex. He also looked over to the door Lex was now slowly heading over too, the one where Mr. Cox had only just left himself.

“Mr. Cox is will be back any second -”

“Well you better start running then, I’m not getting caught ‘cause of you,” Lex said bluntly, the smile that followed was enough to convince him. It took less than 30 seconds for Ethan to grab this bag and leather jacket as well as taking both his and Lex’s phones from Mr. Cox’s desk drawer, but the both of them were out of the door and running down the corridors laughing like maniacs.

*************************Present day*************************

_‘I walk this empty street_

_On the boulevard of broken dreams_

_Where the city sleeps_

_And I'm the only one, and I walk alone_

_My shadow's the only one that walks beside me_

_My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating_

_Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me_

_Till then I walk alone’_

The song faded away and once again Hannah and Ethan were sat in silence, Ethan, however, couldn't stop smiling when he thought back on the most important detention he had in his life.

That was the day Ethan and Lex became friends, it was also the day Lex shared her secret escape route, and to be honest he was surprised he didn't think of it sooner: Out the staff lounge window, cross through the teacher’s car park, hop a curb, cut through the park then your at Evergreen. From there both Ethan and Lex both decided to go their separate ways just before Pinebrook, but not before exchanging numbers so that they could make plans for that weekend if they didn't receive detention again for running off that day (they did). He made him think, what would have happened if he didn't give in and get involved in that fight. He wouldn’t have received detention on the same day Lex got caught smoking, then he wouldn't have accepted the challenge of spitballing Mr. Cox’s drink. Would everything be different he wondered, would he be there now driving Hannah to Lakeside Mall on Black Friday morning? Would they be ready to start the next chapter of their lives after today in California? Although Ethan would never know the ‘What If’s’ but all he knew was right now he was happy with his life, and that he could wait to see what tomorrow was going to hold for them. He looked over to Hannah one last time, she too stared up at him, he gave her a reassuring smile. In that smile he tried his best to say ‘Just wait for it Hannah, soon all of our dreams will be coming true.’ however, all Hannah responded with was the same thing he had heard that day from her.

“Starts today, can’t be stopped, alone in the black.”


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter 2: Take a Hint!

“Merry Christmas.”

“Yeah Merry Christmas Lex!”

Well, she was definitely in need for another smoke after that exchange. Of all the people to ask her for a favor in this world, Lex would never have imagined it would have been Mr. Houston, shaking her head as if she was trying to delete the past five minutes from her memory Lex dug around in her pocket in an attempt to find her lighter. Relighting her cigarette she let her head fall back as she allowed the smoke to engulf her. There was something rotten in her eyes as she took each drag, she was tired. Tired of this job, tired of the same old routine, tired of Hatchetfield. 

12 o’clock couldn't come soon enough.

Counting down from ten slowly Lex prepared to head into ToyZone ready for whatever chaos was due to start until she heard the sounds of the delivery trunk reversing into the alley. She stood back and watched as tall man exited the driver's seat and began unloading the package that Lex could only assume was the star of today's show, she would have gone over to help but the cold star the man was giving her. She was not moving an inch closer. What was he even wearing anyway, she had heard of ‘double denim’ before but ‘triple denim’? He looked like he had got dressed in the dark whilst high on bath salts. Suddenly the fact that she was still the only other person out in the alley began to dawn on her, the delivery guy was going to need a signature for the shipment and she was in no mood for more social interaction. Mr. Houston’s lecture and grovel session was more than what she had bargained for this morning, she thought about shouting out for someone to come and deal with the situation, but as if by some miracle the sound of her boss could be heard from up the stairs…

…It was too early for this. And to make things worse Lex hadn’t had any coffee yet.

“Hark the herald angels sing,

Glory to a newborn King

A fucking furry little monster

That’s gonna make me a pile of cash!” 

Lex watched from just below the metal staircase as Frank Pricely her dick-brain manager leaped down the stairs two by two almost making it seem as if he was floating. Lex shook her head watching the older man acting like a toddler on Christmas Day hiding a smirk by taking the final drag of her cigarette. 

“Right you are good buddy. Now I just need your John Hancock here on the dotted line.” Said the Dolly Parton wannabe as he handed over the form for Frank to sign,

“With pleasure”

Lex rolled her eyes over Frank's enthusiasm for the day ahead, checking the time she noted it was 6.40 am, twenty more minutes until opening. “So that's them huh?”

“Yep, our own little miracle on 34th Street. Tell me, Lex, do you know why they call it Black Friday?”

“Uh, because it comes after Thursday?” Smirking at her own joke, she watched as Frank’s eyes turned dangerously close to giving out daggers.

“Cute. They call it Black Friday because it’s the day in America where most retailers go from being in the red losing money to being in the black, making money.” 

Turning her back to the two men so that she was able to throw away the dead-end of the cigarette she let the droning sounds of the conversation behind her carry on, she wasn't paid enough to pay attention, she just needed to do this final shift then she was leaving the store head high and middle fingers raised to the high heavens. Enjoying the idea of making her exit as dramatic as possibly able too much Lex was unaware of how uncomfortable close denim freak was getting to her, it wasn't until she met his gaze - the freak didn't even have the courtesy to act like he hadn't just been checking her out - that she started to slowly back away towards the door of the stock room. 

“Hello, naughty list.” 

She wanted to scream, she wanted to scratch his eyes out, she wanted to do anything other than just stand there with her mouth slightly open in shock and disgust. The sleaze-ball, satisfied with her reaction chucked as he climbed back into his truck. How had this type of disgusting, distasteful behavior towards her become something she had just come to accept? For the past few years now she had noticed more and more pathetic excuses of the men in this town had suddenly shown their true colours. Was it a superpower that all men had that the second she turned 14 all men turned into creepy arse-holes? Well, all but Ethan. It was funny, he was always more annoyed than she was whenever she got harassed when they were out in public. Their first date, for example, was a complete nightmare, to this day they still joke that they never actually got to finish the whole date. 

**********************************A few years earlier**********************************

“Thanks for the tickets, I don't even remember the last time I went to the Cineplex.” Pulling the pack of red-vines she had snuck in from her jean pocket Lex shuffled over to two empty seats in the back corner of the room. When Ethan texted the other day to suggest going to the movies for their first date she almost rolled her eyes. Very original, but considering there wasn't else to do in this dumb town she didn't mind. Although she was hesitant to go at first - not wanting to leave Hannah alone at home for longer than an hour especially with their Mum at home - Ethan came up with a relatively clever idea: Skipping last period.So here they were, if she was being honest she was really nervous, but as she looked over to see the cheeky smirk on Ethan's face as he sat down next to her she let out a breath she hadn't even realised she was holding.

“I thought you paid?” 

“What?!” 

It was as if someone had dropped a huge weight on her stomach, Lex suddenly felt the need to check her pockets for any sign of a receipt that they had paid but her arms wouldn’t move. The silence was quickly filled with a roar of laughter from Ethan.

“I’m kidding, I just figured we needed something to break the ice.” 

“You fucking asshole! Don’t do that, you trying to give me a heart attack?” 

The nerves had gone and all that was left was a weird feeling Lex couldn’t quite place, why was it that she suddenly couldn't stop grinning like Cheshire cat? She and Ethan had hung out multiple times over the past year since that fateful detention, so why now all of a sudden was this different? Looking down at the packet of red-vines she had been holding onto, opening the packet up quickly she held up the packet to Ethan offering the first pick, 

“So what’s this movie anyway, you promised me the worst movie ever. This better deliver.” 

Accepting her offering of red-vines Ethan chuckled, she was right, he did promise a shitty movie, every other normal couple would be watching a gross cliché romantic comedy. But that wasn't for them, they were fun and unpredictable and one of their favourite things to do together was judging the hell out of people. So they deserved a movie where they could do just that. 

“It’s called ‘ _Nightmare at South Heights High’,_ even though it has probably the worst first reviews of a film ever, they are already considering making a second film within the film's universe. So the plot main follows a bunch of school seniors who after locking themselves in their school's choir room perform an old ancient ritual which ends up releasing a bunch of evil witches that had been banished to hell.”

“Why?”

“For a bet! Yeah, it's stupid, I know. Plus, because the ritual happens on a full moon the kids attract the unwanted attention of a gay werewolf and this kick starts some weird love triangle between the werewolf, one of the kids and the main witch.”

“Why is the werewolf gay?”

“Something about the lack of diverse characters.” They both sat there contemplating on the stupidity of the next 2 and a half hours they were about to endure, Ethan looked over to Lex only to find that she was grinning a wide toothy grin. He had to give it to himself, he picked well and even though he knew the movie was going to be awful he was actually looking forward to watching it, only because he knew that straight after it was over both he and Lex would be ripping it to pieces. Affectionately. The movie wasn't due to start for another 10 minutes so Ethan was rattling his brain to find something to talk about to kill the time, he wanted to tell her she looked really pretty but he knew he would receive an elbow in the gut if he tried. Ah fuck it, he’d take an elbow, hell he’d risk a slap in the face, slowly leaning forward he was ready to whisper the compliment in her ear when suddenly a collection of loud, rowdy noises brought the couples attention the main doors. 

A group of guys had burst through the doors, clearly not caring about the other people sat in the theatre considering how loud they were - it didn’t matter that it was just Ethan and Lex sat in the back corner, after all, it was a Wednesday afternoon - Ethan could tell they were a few years older than them, maybe college students? Looking over Lex also noticed that at least two of the men were carrying half-empty packs of beer. Great, rowdy drunk dudes, just what they wanted today. Wishing with all she had that they would choose the seats furthest away from them, Lex watched with dismay as the group decided to sit directly two rows in front of them.

“Seriously?!” Was all she could whisper over to Ethan, the tone in her voice was a comfortable mix of annoyance and anger. Looking at her body language Ethan could sense her uneasiness,

“Do you want to move across to the other side?” 

“What’s the point, they are just going to follow us over. Hopefully, they pass out when the movie starts, looks like one more drink might do it for the most of them.”

Ethan was not fully convinced by Lex’s sudden willingness to stay put, although she was always one to never be intimidated by anything or anyone, the issue Ethan was more concerned about was the men in front of them and the amount of alcohol they had consumed. Feeling a sudden need to protect her Ethan made sure to place his arm on the top of Lex’s chair, his hand resting on her shoulder, ignoring the amused look on Lex’s face Ethan kept his gaze ahead of him. One eye on the movie, the other on the bozos in front of him. 

They were only halfway through the movie and both Ethan and Lex’s brains were already at breaking point with the amount of stupidity and shamefully laughable nonsense they were watching. There would have been more, however, the film was being interrupted constantly with the loud, ignorant and vulgar commentary coming from the group sat beneath them. Ethan, wanting to make sure it looked like it didn’t bother him, that he wasn’t disturbed by the sexist, abusive and grotesque language they were using when commenting on the young actresses in the movie. He sat there, still and content ignoring the fact that his jaw and fists were clenched to the point where it was hurting. Lex, on the other hand, was not afraid to show her anger, and as her irritation grew so did her willingness to punch the bastards square in the face. 

“Hey assholes, will you shut the fuck up, some of us are trying to watch this shit-fest!” Her voice was sting and confident but that did not make up for the sudden feeling of nausea and her left leg becoming very jittery. Ethan watched as one of the boys in front of them stood and turned to face the couple at the back, 

“Calm down sweetheart, we're just having a bit of fun. In fact, why don’t you thank lanky dumb punk wannabe there and come and join us.” His stupid face wanted to make Lex vomit when the douche-bag winked over at her and even had the audacity to blow a kiss at her Ethan had to physically hold her down in her seat to stop her from leaping over to sucker punch him to the ground. 

“Aw, it looks like we got a feisty one here boys.” The rest of the group below them had also turned around in their seats, Ethan was not liking where this was going, “Don’t worry babe, were really friendly. Do we not look friendly? That makes us sad doesn’t it boys?” 

Not wanting to stick around to see where this conversation was going to end, Ethan quickly signaled to Lex to get up they began to head down the stairs to the exit when Lex’s arm was caught by the angry drunken boy. She tried to shake him off but his grip was too strong.

“Where are you going, babe? The fun was only just getting started.”

“Let. Her. Go.” Lex had never heard Ethan sound so angry, the sound that came from his lips was almost animalistic and his eyes had darkened to the point Lex swore they had turned black. Pulling Lex back towards him, so that he could move forward to square up against the older boy, not caring that the other members of the group had also stood up to join them. 

“Or what T-Bird reject, you going to punch me? I think your boyfriend here thinks he’s a knight in shining armor eh babe, you don’t want that, what you want is someone with more _experience_.” 

Looking back to check that Lex was still behind him, he gave her a quick smirk to reassure her before turning back to face the group for four in front of him. It was less than ten seconds but Ethan decked the dude so hard that when the guy fell backward, he brought down two other members of the group with him. 

“Don’t you dare speak to her again! Run, Lex now!” 

**********************************Present day**********************************

That was how Ethan got his second warning from the Lakeside Mall security. The four boys were also cautioned and were no longer welcome to come back to the Cineplex due to the fact that they snuck alcohol into the mall itself, Ethan and Lex were only given a warning after they had explained the situation (plus it helped that they were not drunk at the time). Lex also remembered how they never saw the end of the movie, even to this day on the anniversary of that very messy first date they always watched the movie but turned it off halfway through, it became one of their many ongoing jokes. It was also after that day they both started calling each other 'babe'. It started out as a joke, a way to remember that date as fondly as they could, but after a while, the word had begun to grow on them. Soon enough they wouldn't call each other anything else. Lex smiled at the thought of it, the word 'babe' was no longer that reminded her of the many scumbags in the world, but reminded her of how loving and respectful Ethan was throughout the whole situation. 

“Uh, excuse me, Alexandra, I don’t mean to bother you or anything but do you think I can see some hustle outta you on this, the most important shift of your life? On this, the holiest day in America for humble merchants across this fine nation?” 

Shit, she forgot Frank was still out in the alley with her, arms wrapped around the box of Wiggley’s as if it was some relative he hadn't seen in ten years. Tearing her attention away from the direction jean freak had left from she reluctantly shuffled back over to Frank quickly trying to think of something witty to say in response.

“If it’s a holy day, do I get time-and-a-half?” Judging by the way Frank’s freakishly large grin dropped to his usual resting bitch face Lex’s comment was spot on.

“You know, you got a real attitude problem. Your no-good boyfriend is always around, you’d think a dropout with a record would be thankful to have a job. Do you wanna end up like your mother? No prospects and two kids she can’t take care of? She dropped your sister on her head or whatever. But you? Look at what a fine job she’s done with you.”

The entire time Frank was speaking Lex was trying to control herself, taking in long deep breaths to calm herself down, sure Frank could insult her mother she didn't care, her mom’s a bitch. He could even make a dig at herself and Ethan, they never cared for Frank’s opinion about anything, but Hannah? No one, no one spoke about her sister like that, they didn't know her, they didn't know what she went through or how she struggles on a daily basis. Yes, Frank was extremely lucky Lex was focusing all her attention on not decking him so hard he would be missing serval teeth right now. 

“Look, Frank, do you want me to unload these things or what?”

“That would be nice! If our hot ticket item could be on the shelves when we open!”

“FINE!”

“THANK YOU!” Now that her back was turned Lex was now able to let her face say what she was so desperate to express, she was just about to slice open the cardboard when Frank’s tedious voice once again disturbed the silence.

“Alexandra, do you have something to say back to me? Something a polite young woman might respond with?”

_Breathe, just breathe._ “Thank you?”

“No, no, no, no. Alexandra, I know this is hard for you, but try to keep up. I say ‘Thank you’, so you should say—“

_Noon, you have to just survive until noon, then its finally over._ “You’re welcome.”

“See, she can be taught!

Hark the herald angels sing,

Glory to a newborn King.

Peace on Earth and lots of money,

Money, money, money, just for me!” 

Rolling her eyes so hard that they did somersaults Lex waited until Frank had closed the door of the stockroom, leaving her out in the alley alone. Shaking her head with small laugh Lex returned her attention back to the box in front of her. 

“We’ll see who’s laughin’ by the end of the day, we’ll see who’s laughin’…”


End file.
